It is so hard to believe that I am two weeks into the third trimester!
By this week, Matthew probably weighs two and a quarter pounds (about the same as a Chinese cabbage - can't say I've had one of those) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels (which may explain the more regular movements that I have been feeling). He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through my belly. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world. Which will be here before we know it!
My next doctor's appointment is next Thursday. We are having an ultrasound! Hopefully this time he won't cover up his face this time! I will try to figure out how to post pictures too!
Have a blessed week!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
27 Weeks!
We have been enjoying a very busy summer. I took a break from the farm chores yesterday and went shopping at IKEA and Gap Outlet. It was a great day with my sisters and friend Kelly. You gotta love those Gap Outlet prices! Enough about me...this is what is going on in Matthew's world :)
This week, Matthew weighs almost 2 pounds about the weight of a head of cauliflower and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals (already not necessarily the same intervals as mommy!), opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, Matthew's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. (I plan on keeping him safe in my belly for a few more months!) I have heard that I should chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements I may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother him, I have been enjoying these.
This week, Matthew weighs almost 2 pounds about the weight of a head of cauliflower and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals (already not necessarily the same intervals as mommy!), opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, Matthew's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. (I plan on keeping him safe in my belly for a few more months!) I have heard that I should chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements I may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother him, I have been enjoying these.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
26 Weeks!
As the month of July gets started, the network of nerves in Baby Bradbury's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both Mommy and Daddy as we chat with each other. (I guess that we better watch what we are saying!) He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches about the length of an English hothouse cucumber from head to heel.
I am now starting to understand why heat and pregnancy don't mix! We have started the long process of adding onto the house. The baby will now have his own room instead of sharing my closet! We have also decided on a name...we will now refer to Baby Bradbury as Matthew Taylor Bradbury! The plan is to call him Matt. It is so crazy to think that we will be meeting him in less that 100 days! Let the countdown continue!
I am now starting to understand why heat and pregnancy don't mix! We have started the long process of adding onto the house. The baby will now have his own room instead of sharing my closet! We have also decided on a name...we will now refer to Baby Bradbury as Matthew Taylor Bradbury! The plan is to call him Matt. It is so crazy to think that we will be meeting him in less that 100 days! Let the countdown continue!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
25 Weeks!
Head to heels, Baby Bradbury now measures about 13 1/2 inches. His weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga (another strange vegetable), but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. He's also growing more hair — and if we could see it, we'd now be able to discern its color and texture.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
24 Weeks - take two!
First, I know this is late...we have had a busy week on the farm. Second, I started a post yesterday and it got deleted...I was too frustrated to redo it!
So here is last week's update: Baby Bradbury's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (imagine an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.
I went to the doctor last Thursday. All is going well. Baby Bradbury's heartbeat was great. My blood pressure was wonderful and I passed my glucose test! Next month we will have another ultrasound! Have a wonderful day!
So here is last week's update: Baby Bradbury's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (imagine an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.
I went to the doctor last Thursday. All is going well. Baby Bradbury's heartbeat was great. My blood pressure was wonderful and I passed my glucose test! Next month we will have another ultrasound! Have a wonderful day!
Friday, June 13, 2008
23 Weeks!
If I was much of a dancer, I could turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, Baby Bradbury COULD feel me dance. That is if I was doing any dancing :)! And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), I have been able to feel him move, which is amazing! Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that Baby Bradbury's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner (cows mooing and mommy and daddy snoring!)— probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Baby Update - 22 Weeks!
As summer gets on the way, here is this week's baby update.
The grow must go on! Baby Bradbury now weighs nearly a pound and measures nearly a foot in length. (He is about the length of a spaghetti squash.) He is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His perfect little pancreas is now further developed and he's also started producing his own hormones! (Already!?) Baby Bradbury's future in the circus as a world-famous tight-rope-walker is secure: his inner ear is now developed to the point that he had his own sense of balance. Lucky for our little explorer, balance also promotes physical dexterity, which has him actively feeling out his surroundings where skin, body parts, and the resident umbilical cord are the big sensory experiences. Baby Bradbury is looking a bit like an oversized raisin right now as more and more wrinkles are showing up each week. Not to worry, all that excessive wrinkling is just his skin’s way of planning ahead for the time when they’ll start piling on that irresistible baby chub.
The grow must go on! Baby Bradbury now weighs nearly a pound and measures nearly a foot in length. (He is about the length of a spaghetti squash.) He is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His perfect little pancreas is now further developed and he's also started producing his own hormones! (Already!?) Baby Bradbury's future in the circus as a world-famous tight-rope-walker is secure: his inner ear is now developed to the point that he had his own sense of balance. Lucky for our little explorer, balance also promotes physical dexterity, which has him actively feeling out his surroundings where skin, body parts, and the resident umbilical cord are the big sensory experiences. Baby Bradbury is looking a bit like an oversized raisin right now as more and more wrinkles are showing up each week. Not to worry, all that excessive wrinkling is just his skin’s way of planning ahead for the time when they’ll start piling on that irresistible baby chub.
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